For many years I taught classes at a major west coast agency SWAT academy; I don't recall a single Kimber II type 1911 ever making it through the week long handgun portion of the training...
For many years I taught classes at a major west coast agency SWAT academy; I don't recall a single Kimber II type 1911 ever making it through the week long handgun portion of the training...
It seemed to me that the Kimber hype came from the small LAPD SWAT procurement plus the tiny USMC purchase of about one hundred Custom II pistols for the now deactivated USMC SOCOM Detachment One. Funny how Kimber declined to enter the USMC M45 competition...
Much of the 10-8 commentary regarding the Series II Kimbers revolved around the Swartz firing pin safety developing timing issues after a few thousand rounds and the firearm going 'click' when you drop the hammer instead of 'bang'. That link on the Warrior models discusses additional problems.
It is too bad too - as others have said, Kimber revolutionized the 1911 industry. As time went on, Kimber seemed to invest more effort in the 'Gun of the Month' marketing ("Look, the cocking serrations say SIS! This one has a snake theme!") than making the pistols that the serious user community wanted. It is unfortunate because I really liked my TLE, but I didn't trust it, and finally traded it. Before I moved it, the front sight came off.
As for the dreaded 1911 external extractor, it seems like Smith and Wesson cracked that code with their 'E' series pistols - while also dropping the Swartz system.
"When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."
I have 2. A 4" and a 5".
The 5" started life as a Royal II. Oh my that was a pretty gun, beautiful finish, and a truly wonderful trigger.
Right up until it locked up solid. To the point where even getting a bigger hammer wouldn't fix it. That was right around the 300 round mark. Since it happened in an after hours shoot at our work range, I tossed it in my locker overnight until I could get my gunsmith on the phone the next day.
Z Gunsmith promptly asked me to box it up and get it off to him, as he had time, and would give it a quick working over. By the time I got it boxed up, all of 15 hours after shooting it, the finish was rusted red. All of it. By the time it made it to UT to the smith, all hope was lost for the finish. Destroyed.
And it ended up not being a quick fix. Ended up turning that pistol into a "Custom" gun out of the desire to not be stuck with a total lemon.
After several months, and several hundred dollars, the Kimber returned home where it has withstood 9 years of abuse, and several thousand rounds of use. It has been run hard, and just put away, and it keeps right on chugging along. One of my personal favorite 1911's, probably due to sentimental attachment, but I have 100% faith in the gun.
Now.
But it is also FAR from being a Kimber these days.
You can get much more of what you want with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.
Rhymes with "Ron Cohen".Originally Posted by JSGlock34
Kimber makes a fantastic frame/slide/barrel kit for about a grand. You can even get it with RAPTOR SCALES!
(I know I've said it before but, IMHO, any 1911 for much less than eleven hundred bucks is just a pistol starter kit...)
Hmm...let's check in on SIG...Rhymes with "Ron Cohen".
Decline in QC...check!
Gun of the month marketing...ooh, a Viking model...check!
Yep, seems about right.
"When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."
Engineered to look good at the gun counter.
Seriously, though, Kimber should be covered in any college marketing course. They managed to pick up a level of name recognition and brand loyalty in less than a decade that it normally takes generations to achieve.
Perhaps the ethics and methods espoused at business schools is part of the problem...have you read "Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School" by Philip Delves Broughton?
I had a Clackamas Gen 1 5" that I gave to my 2IC when I retired and he took over command of our SWAT team. 30,000 rounds through that gun without a bobble that wasn't magazine or ammo induced.
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